The 10 Indies to Watch on VOD This April: ‘Joe,’ ‘Blue Ruin,’ ‘Filth’ and More
To help you figure out what to watch on VOD this month, we’ve compiled a
list of the 10 best indies new to VOD this month that have yet to open theatrically. [Synopses provided by the distributors unless otherwise noted.]
“Afflicted” (April 4)
This ingenious feature debut follows two friends (played by co-directors
Derek Lee and Clif Prowse) who set out to travel the world. But the
trip soon takes a dark and bloody turn when one of the men shows signs
of a mysterious affliction which gradually takes over his entire body.
Where to Watch: iTunes, Amazon, Charter, Comcast, Google Play, DirecTV, Playstation, SuddenLink, Time Warner, Verizon FIOS, Vudu, XBOX
“A Promise“ (April 18)
Set in pre-First World War Germany,
Hoffmeister (Alan Rickman) is an ailing factory owner, whiskered and
respectable. As his energies flag, he looks to a sharp young man in his
employ for help. Ludwig (Richard Madden) impresses Hoffmeister with his
reliability and youthful spirit, and the older man finds himself leaning
more and more on this promising up-and-comer. At the same time,
Hoffmeister’s young bride (Rebecca Hall) is looking for a tutor for
their child, and Ludwig proves both flexible and willing. When he moves
into their home, an emotional triangle develops. Societal dignity and
decorum must be respected, and it is. Nevertheless, heated passions come
into play, while Hoffmeister looks on. Based on Stefan Zweig’s novel
“Journey into the Past.”
Where to Watch: iTunes, Bright House, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox, Insight, Time Warner
“Beneath the Harvest Sky“ (April 15)
Casper (Emory Cohen of “The Place Beyond the Pines”) and Dominic (Callan McAuliffe of “The Great Gatsby”) have been fiercely loyal friends since childhood. Desperate for a way out of their quiet town on the Maine-Canada border, the boys make a pact to pool their earnings on a car and hit the road. But when Casper is drawn into drug smuggling with his outlaw father to pay his share, their friendship is pushed to the brink and adult choices forced on them all too soon.
Where to Watch: Amazon Instant Video, Bright House,
Optimum, Charter, Cox, DirectTV, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, Vudu,
Xfinity, iTunes, Rogers Anyplace TV
“Blue Ruin” (April 25)
The quiet life of a beach bum is upended by dreadful news. He sets off
for his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance but proves an
inept assassin and finds himself in a brutal fight to protect his
estranged family.
Where to Watch: iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, Playstation, XBOX, Vudu, Time Warner
“Bright Days Ahead” (April 15)
For recent retiree Caroline (Fanny Ardant), a new life of freedom and opportunity lies before her: time to take care of her children, her husband, and most of all, to finally take care of herself. But while her peers at the local seniors’ club pass the time with ceramics and amateur theater, she finds a new hobby of her own between the sheets with the center’s computer teacher Julien, a carefree ladies man decades her junior. The couple set rules for their affair, but Caroline seems to like courting danger, taking her lover to places she knows they might be seen and telling lies to her husband (Patrick Chesnais of “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”) that could easily be discovered. As Caroline finds herself in the midst a second youth – taking a new lover, living new experiences, breaking the rules, not doing what’s expected of her – will her retirement mark the beginning of the end for her marriage, or a new beginning?
Where to Watch: Amazon Instant Video, Bright House,
Optimum, Charter, Cox, DirectTV, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, Vudu,
Xfinity, iTunes, Rogers Anyplace TV
“Filth” (April 24)
A bipolar bigoted junkie cop (James McAvoy), manipulates and hallucinates his way
through the festive season in a bid to secure promotion and win back his
wife and daughter.
Where to Watch: iTunes, Amazon, Charter, Comcast, Google Play, DirecTV, Playstation, SuddenLink, Time Warner, Verizon FIOS, Vudu, XBOX
“Hateship Loveship“ (April 11)
Johanna Parry (Kristen Wiig) is a profoundly shy, unadorned woman who
is hired by Mr. McCauley (Nick Nolte) as a housekeeper and a primary
caregiver to his granddaughter Sabitha (Hailee Steinfeld). Despite her
outgoing nature, Sabitha carries wounds from the death of her mother
years before, complicated by
the circumstances of that death for which her grandfather still blames
her father, Ken (Guy Pearce), a hapless recovering drug addict with a
certain ragged charm. In an act of mean-spirited rebellion, Sabitha uses
technology to foster a pseudo-relationship between Johanna and her
father, never dreaming of the potential harm to either party. Sabitha
doesn’t understand that Johanna is not a demure cut-out, but rather a
woman for whom the phrase “still waters run deep” could have been
coined. The young girl’s interference provokes Johanna to indulge in
something long missing from her life: the dream of a future and a home
of her own. [TIFF]
Where to Watch: iTunes, Bright House, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox, Insight, Time Warner
“The Machine” (April 8)
Caradog James adds another layer to the Frankenstein story in the latest
gripping sci-fi adventure to come out of the U.K.. Already deep into a
second Cold War, Britain’s Ministry of Defence seeks a game-changing
weapon. Programmer Vincent McCarthy unwittingly provides an answer in
The Machine, a super-strong
human cyborg played by the impressive Caity Lotz (“The Pact”). When a
programming bug causes the prototype to decimate his lab, McCarthy takes
his obsessive efforts underground, far away from inquisitive eyes.
Where to Watch: iTunes, Amazon, Charter, Comcast, Google Play, DirecTV, Playstation, SuddenLink, Time Warner, Verizon FIOS, Vudu, XBOX
“Joe” (April 11)
Directed by David Gordon Green (“Prince Avalanche”, “Pineapple Express”)
the film brings Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage back to his indie
roots in the title role as the hard-living, hot-tempered, ex-con Joe
Ransom, as he meets a hard-luck kid,(Tye Sheridan) (“Mud”, “Tree of
Life”) who awakens in him a
fierce and tender-hearted protector. Joe and Gary forge an unlikely
bond. When Gary finds himself facing a a great threat, he turns to Joe
and sets off a chain of events that play out with the brutal
inevitability of tragedy and the beauty of a last stab at salvation. [TIFF]
Where to Watch: iTunes, Amazon, Charter, Comcast, Google Play, DirecTV, Playstation, SuddenLink, Time Warner, Verizon FIOS, Vudu, XBOX
“Stage Fright“ (April 3)
Starry-eyed teenager Camilla Swanson wants to follow in her mother’s
footsteps and become a Broadway diva, but she’s stuck working in the
kitchen of a snobby performing arts camp. Determined to change her
destiny, she sneaks in to audition for the summer showcase and lands a
lead role in the play, but just as rehearsals begin, blood starts to spill, and Camilla soon finds herself terrified by the horror of musical theater. [SXSW]
Where to Watch: iTunes, Amazon, Charter, Comcast, Google Play, DirecTV, Playstation, SuddenLink, Time Warner, Verizon FIOS, Vudu, XBOX
